REVIEW: Ghost 21
So with episode 21 of Kamen Rider Ghost, I think we have definitely hit its average stride. What I mean by this is that we’ve hit the point in its run where everything is overall good, but nothing is exceptional. I don’t mean this as a negative thing at all, but that we’ve hit the point in the show were most conflicts are established, as well as most character arcs and that we are just moving through them at a nice pace. In short, yeah this episode is good, just it doesn’t stand out.
Frankly this feeling of good-averageness could stem from the fact that we are starting a new arc this week. I personally tend to find these sorts of episodes alright, but since there isn’t any pay-off in what they set up, I feel a bit empty and dissatisfied. Yeah the plots they are setting up are interesting, but it just makes this episode feel like a stepping stone within the wider plot. It honestly isn’t an issue with anything to do with the program or really with anything. It’s just a trend within any long-form program that is necessary and I just find makes an episode a little mediocre. Not terrible, just mediocre.
But I did really enjoy the episode aside from that sense of middle-of-the-road-ness; there were some really interesting stuff that will pay off great next week. For instance, Makoto going into the Ganma world to find his body is interesting. It was really cool seeing him use the Gan-Gun Hand and sneaking around in the Ganma world un-transformed. Also it’s nice to know that my idea that he wasn’t really alive and that he was sort of Ganma was true. Also it confirms that not everyone can become a rider in this world. But I do want to know what happened with Kanon since she was an Eyecon, but she didn’t have a physical body in the human world. I really hope this isn’t brushed under the table and is actually addressed. Probably will considering we are only on episode 21.
On that note tonally, this arc feels more akin to the last few episodes of a Kamen Rider series, rather than the midpoint. This might actually be quite a lot of praise for the show. I say this since to me, the program doesn’t feel stale or just spinning its wheels in the air, at least for now. I’ve felt that for most seasons, at this point in Kamen Rider shows, the programs usually lose a sense of purpose because they had a major climax and need time to get back to a status quo. While Ghost on the other hand keeps moving on and is developing constantly; It always has some new significant thing occurring, at least in this moment in the show and recently.
When I say something significant happening, I mean something like the whole plot with Adel and Adonis. It is a bit clichéd, but I do like seeing a sympathetic father figure who has a nice goal/ideal, but one of his kids took it too far. This plot point feels clichéd in a way, but I can’t think of exactly when this has occurred before. Maybe it’s more of a case of it’s a predictable plotline. But again since Ghost is a brand new context with some generally unique aspects to it, this predictable/clichéd feels new.
Another overall thing I’m seeing with Ghost that I quite like is the fact that more and more of the Ganma are becoming sympathetic and fleshed out. With most Monsters-Of-The-Week in Tokusatsu which aren’t humans who have transformed, I tend to find that they are simple 2 dimensional monsters who all they want to do is kill/cause chaos or what have you. For the majority of Ghost, yes they were exactly this, but I am really enjoying this newfound depth to the villains. We did get this sort of theme with Drive last year, but I felt they never went all the way with it and had it as a side theme. This isn’t bad necessarily, just that I’m glad that Toei/the creators of Ghost are emphasising this unique and interesting theme more.
I’m also loving how they are doing this by having Ganma that are quite harmless, through Cubi (which is a fantastic name for them) or having Ganma who are noble, yet still working for their faction, i.e. the Armoured Ganma. Props to Toei for getting a female voice actress for that Ganma; it’s great to see more female-coded villains who aren’t stereotypically feminine. It’s also really nice to see Cubi get more development and be what seems to be an integral part of the team; I’m so glad they aren’t just a gag character or an afterthought.
Finally, I want to discuss what happened with the Eyecons this week. As I’ve said MANY times before, I was quite excited at the idea of the Eyecons being traded about and changing hands constantly. I really liked it when it happened in OOO and would’ve loved to have it happened in Ghost because it would have added even more value to the Eyecons. But sadly this really hasn’t happened so far. With this week’s episode, we do get a bit of it however as Igor takes all the Eyecons from Takeru. Not only does this add overall dramatic weight to the show, but it is going to make the gaining of Grateful Soul even more satisfying and triumphant. This is because Takeru has now lost all of his power and thus when he gains Grateful, he will have earnt the power it gives him; something I feel hasn’t been happening much with Kamen Rider as of late, at least with the mid-season upgrades. So basically this swerve was quite welcome.
Speaking of Igor, I really enjoy what he has been doing within the show. He perfectly encapsulates the Ganma ideology of sacrificing individualism for the sake of a utopia. It’s a very complex and interesting theme that I am so glad is being brought up and dealt with in Ghost. Not only because it makes the show more ‘valuable’ and gives it ‘quality’ since its tackling something with quite a lot of depth, but it is also teach kids some really interesting and valuable lessons. If the show manages to pull the theme off in an intelligent and well-balanced manner, I think this theme and message will be extremely pro-social and raise the value of the program.
Basically, this episode was quite average for Ghost. But as you can see from what I’ve written, this isn’t really a bad thing. I was able to draw so much from the episode from pre-existing themes and plotlines that in my opinion are fantastic. Again this episode was just very average in a good show, making it actually quite good. I very much look forward to the pay-off for all the themes and plotlines brought up this week.
